There are 1 owner-reported steering complaints for the 2008 BMW M5in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
WHILE DRIVING MY BMW M5, THE VEHICLE BECAME MOMENTARILY UNSTABLE WHILE DRIVING ON STATE ROUTE 52 BETWEEN WALKER VALLEY AND ELLENVILLE AROUND A TURN @ ~50MPH. SHORTLY AFTER THE ABS AND DSC LIGHTS BECAME ILLUMINATED. I HAVE SEVERAL VEHICLES SO I DID NOT DRIVE THIS CAR AND COULD NOT GET REPAIRED IMMEDIATELY DUE TO COVID-19. I AM NOT SURE THE EXACT DATE IN WHICH THIS OCCURRED BUT DROPPED OFF TO ORANGE COUNTY BMW ON 5/19/2020. AFTER INSPECTION IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE COMPLETE DSC UNIT (HYDRO / ELECTRIC) COMPLETELY FAILED. MEANING THERE WAS ALTERED STABILITY CONTROL, ABS BRAKING AND COME TO FIND OUT STEERING. THE STEERING SENSORS WERE DIAGNOSED AFTER THE NEW DSC UNIT WAS INSTALLED AND COULD NOT BE PROGRAMMED DUE TO FAULTY STEERING SENSORS. NOT ONLY WAS THIS SOMETHING EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO HAPPEN, IT WAS ALSO EXTREMELY COSTLY TO REPAIR. TO BMW'S CREDIT THEY DID COVER THE FAULTY STEERING SENSORS BUT THE DSC UNIT THAT KEEPS THE VEHICLE HEADING IN THE DIRECTION THAT YOU STEER THE CAR.....WAS NOT. I ATTACHED THE INVOICE FROM BMW CONFIRMING ALL THAT WAS STATED ABOVE. I AM SURE THIS HAS OCCURRED NUMEROUS TIMES BEFORE BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THIS WAS DOCUMENTED. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026